Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Bone Marrow & Cep Kulcha
Bone Marrow & Cep Kulcha ()

Bone Marrow & Cep Kulcha

Non-vegetarianMakes 10 flatbreads

A griddled kulcha flatbread brushed with rich roasted bone-marrow butter and finished with earthy cep powder or thin raw ceps. It tastes buttery, savoury and mushroomy, with a soft, puffed bread base.

Ingredients

01
Marrow bone · Nalli
1000 g
meat
02
Salt · Namak
to taste
salt
03
Unsalted butter · Safed Makhanmelted and cooled to room temperature
150 g
dairy
04
Kulcha dough · Kulcha ka aatarecipe quantityMake it: Kulcha Dough →
100 g1 portion
grain
05
Plain flour · Maidafor dusting
to taste
flour
06
Porcini powderper portion, or 200 g (7 oz) fresh ceps (porcini), very thinly sliced
~0.3 gpinch
other

Method

  1. Put 1000 g beef marrow bone in a bowl of cold water with a small handful of sea salt to taste. Leave ideally overnight.
  2. Heat the oven to 160°C (320°F).
  3. Drain the bones and put them in a roasting pan. Roast for about 15 minutes until just browned, watching closely so the marrow does not melt out.
  4. Scoop out the marrow and weigh it. Put the marrow in a food processor and let it cool to room temperature.
  5. Add 150 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled, using three parts marrow to one part butter. Blitz until smooth and well combined.
  6. Roll each 100 g portion of kulcha dough on a surface dusted with plain flour to about 15 cm (6 in) across.
  7. Heat a tawa or large frying pan until hot and dry. Cook one flatbread at a time for 3–4 minutes on each side until puffed, lightly browned and charred in places.
  8. Remove from the pan and brush generously with the marrow butter. Sprinkle 0.3 g porcini powder per flatbread, or top with 200 g very thinly sliced fresh ceps. Season to taste with sea salt.

Don't have something?

Marrow bone
  • Lamb bone

    Use the same weight; it gives body but less marrow richness. Brown it first and simmer for at least the same time.

  • Lamb stock

    Use 200 g stock for every 100 g marrow bone, added instead of water; richer but no marrow fat. Reduce other liquid.

  • Stock

    Use 200 g for every 100 g bone; lighter, so add a knob of butter or ghee.

Unsalted butter
  • Ghee

    Use 80% to 85% of the weight. Delivers rich dairy flavour without the milk solids or moisture; watch the heat as it cooks hotter.

  • Butter

    Use equal weight, but reduce the recipe's added salt by approximately 1.5% of the weight of butter used.

Kulcha dough
  • Naan dough

    Use the same weight; shape and bake or grill the same way for the closest fluffy texture.

  • Chapati dough

    Use the same weight; roll thicker, add a pinch of baking powder and rest 20 minutes for a softer kulcha.

  • Dough

    Use the same weight of any plain leavened bread dough; rest and cook as kulcha, though texture will vary.

Plain flour
  • Whole wheat flour

    Use the same weight, add 10–15% more water and rest the dough for 20 minutes; the result is heavier and nuttier.

  • Rice flour

    Use the same weight for crisp coatings; for doughs use no more than half rice flour with wheat flour, or it will be crumbly.

  • Cornflour

    For thickening use half the weight, mixed with cold water; it is not suitable for bread or chapati dough.

Porcini powder
  • Dried morel

    Grind to a powder and use 80% of the weight; earthier and stronger.

  • Mushroom

    Finely chop fresh mushroom and use about 5 times the weight; cook off the water before adding. Less concentrated.

  • Soy sauce

    Use a few drops for 1 g powder; gives umami but not mushroom aroma.

Similar dishes

Masala Kulcha
Masala Kulcha tastes buttery and herby with a tangy chaat masala hit and lightly charred edges, whereas this dish tastes buttery, savoury and mushroomy from marrow and cep.
  • Same: Masala Kulcha shares the 100 g kulcha dough and plain flour base with this dish, and both are griddled flatbreads finished with butter.
  • Different: Masala Kulcha works 100 g coriander leaves and 150 g red onion into the dough and finishes with 250 g unsalted butter and 0.3 g chaat masala, while this dish brushes on roasted bone-marrow butter and uses 0.3 g porcini powder or thin raw ceps.
Chilli, Garlic & Cheese Kulcha
Chilli, Garlic & Cheese Kulcha tastes rich and buttery with a sharp chilli-garlic bite and cheese, while this dish tastes buttery, savoury and mushroomy from marrow and cep.
  • Same: Chilli, Garlic & Cheese Kulcha shares the same griddled kulcha base with this dish, using 100 g kulcha dough, plain flour and unsalted butter.
  • Different: It is topped with 24 g green chilli, 12 g garlic and 200 g Berkswell cheese, while this dish uses 1000 g beef marrow bone, 150 g unsalted butter and 0.3 g porcini powder for a bone-marrow butter and cep finish.
Lardo Kulcha
Lardo Kulcha tastes salty, rich and porky with melting lardo, while this dish tastes buttery, savoury and mushroomy from the marrow butter and cep powder.
  • Same: Lardo Kulcha and this dish are both soft griddled kulcha flatbreads made from kulcha dough and plain flour, finished rich and savoury.
  • Different: Lardo Kulcha tops the bread with thin slices of cured pork fat that melt on the hot bread, while this dish brushes it with roasted bone-marrow butter and finishes it with cep or porcini powder, so Lardo Kulcha lacks beef marrow, butter and mushroom seasoning.
Puris
Deep-Fried Bread with Wholemeal Flour
Puris tastes crisp, puffed and plainly fried from wholemeal flour, while this dish tastes buttery, savoury and mushroomy with a soft bread base.
  • Same: Puris shares with this dish a flour-dough bread format and a warm serving role.
  • Different: Puris uses wholemeal flour, salt, vegetable oil and water and is deep-fried; this dish uses kulcha dough, beef marrow bone, unsalted butter and porcini powder and is griddled and brushed with marrow butter.